Survey Reveals Attendees Postponing AI and IT Initiatives Amid Budget Constraints

LAS VEGAS, October 20, 2024 (Newswire.com) – As the healthcare industry gears up for HLTH 2024, a recent survey by Black Book Research has unveiled a significant trend among health system and payer executives: a cautious approach to adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and IT initiatives. With budget constraints shifting focus to internal system challenges, many attendees are prioritizing evaluation over immediate purchasing decisions, viewing unproven AI technologies as high-risk investments until at least 2026.

A Shift in Focus: Evaluation Over Investment

The survey, which included nearly 300 attendees who identified as potential buyers, revealed that a substantial number of respondents characterized their participation in HLTH 2024 as "window shopping" or "tire kicking." This indicates a desire to explore generative AI, emerging machine learning technologies, cybersecurity solutions, and innovations in post-acute care, but with no firm plans for investment before mid-2026. Specifically, 244 out of 295 respondents confirmed their organizations are not prepared to make significant investments in broad-scale AI or to replace ineffective solutions like Electronic Health Records (EHRs) or Revenue Cycle software in the near term.

Doug Brown, Founder of Black Book Research, emphasized the importance of this trend, stating, "This underscores the industry’s cautious approach to adoption, as decision-makers emphasize thorough due diligence and careful evaluation while navigating the fast-evolving healthcare technology landscape."

The Atmosphere at HLTH 2024: Curiosity and Collaboration

With a focus on exploration and collaboration, attendees are eager to engage in strategic learning and decision-making. Key findings from the survey indicate that 38% of attendees are looking to deepen their understanding of market options by evaluating vendors and their solutions, while 85% are interested in exploring a wide range of innovations that could drive digital transformation in healthcare. This creates a unique opportunity for exhibitors and presenters at HLTH 2024 to showcase cutting-edge solutions and insights, capturing the attention of a motivated audience ready to embrace advancements that can enhance healthcare delivery.

Key Areas of Interest: AI, Cybersecurity, and Clinical Data

1. Verifying Genuine Generative AI and Large Language Model Solutions

AI is set to take center stage at HLTH 2024, with attendees eager to explore its potential to enhance healthcare delivery. However, many are cautious about committing to immediate implementation. Conversations are expected to focus on practical applications of AI that streamline workflows, improve care coordination, and expand patient access. Attendees will be particularly interested in understanding how these advancements can lead to tangible outcomes, driving efficiency and improving patient experiences without rushing into decisions.

Brown noted, "Special attention will be given to voice transcription AI services and LLM AI, particularly those fine-tuned on clinical data." This highlights the need for transparent vendor evaluation services in this rapidly evolving area.

2. Cybersecurity Resurgence

In light of recent cybersecurity breaches in the healthcare sector, including incidents involving Change Healthcare and CrowdStrike, 77% of attendees at HLTH 2024 are prioritizing solutions to combat ongoing threats to cybersecurity and patient privacy. Brown pointed out that a significant theme will be the importance of redundancy in health technology, which involves duplicating essential system components to maintain functionality during failures. As technology supports every aspect of care—from EHRs to ePrescribing networks—system outages can disrupt patient care and compromise clinical outcomes.

Attendees will seek discussions on how to incorporate redundancy into IT infrastructures while adopting comprehensive cybersecurity strategies, especially as the industry embraces digital health solutions, remote patient monitoring, and AI technologies that rely on secure information systems.

3. Maximizing the Potential of Clinical Data

Another key focus at HLTH 2024 will be the urgent need for hospitals and payers to adapt their approaches to leverage structured clinical data for greater value across the healthcare industry. As payers begin to shift away from exclusive reliance on claims data, they recognize the necessity of utilizing clinical data to enhance risk adjustment, streamline prior authorization, improve care management, and strengthen payment integrity.

Brown explained, "This transformation is largely driven by advanced AI technologies that extract actionable insights from the vast amounts of unstructured data within EHRs—an estimated 80% of clinical data." By harnessing AI and machine learning, both payers and providers can make smarter decisions that enhance outcomes, reduce inefficiencies, and ultimately improve patient care.

Conclusion: A Pivotal Moment for Healthcare Leaders

As the healthcare industry confronts challenges such as cyber threats, system failures, and fragmented data systems, integrating redundancy and robust data management strategies becomes imperative. HLTH 2024 presents a pivotal opportunity for healthcare leaders to engage in thoughtful exploration of the latest technological advancements while emphasizing the importance of strategic decision-making.

With a collective emphasis on collaboration and innovation, hospitals and payers are encouraged to rethink their strategies, prioritize redundancy and interoperability, and invest in solutions that can lead to improved patient outcomes. The insights gained at HLTH 2024 will be instrumental in guiding organizations toward a more resilient and effective future.

About Black Book

Black Book™ maintains an objective and unbiased stance in its vendor satisfaction surveys, ensuring transparency and independence. Since 2010, Black Book has surveyed over two million users in the healthcare software and services sector globally, expanding its reputation for independent, unbiased crowd-sourced surveying to various professionals in the industry.

About HLTH 2024

HLTH 2024, taking place from October 20 to 23 in Las Vegas, promises to be a significant event in the healthcare technology landscape. Attendees can expect immersive experiences, enhanced networking opportunities, and discussions aimed at tackling key healthcare challenges and innovations. For more details, visit the official HLTH website.

Source: Black Book Research